Roaring Flames
by Marc Ezra
Summary: The Rebellion won over the Capitol, but all isn't well. When Katniss Everdeen, becomes the new President, the Districts call for retribution. The taunting spirit of past Games still haunt them and they want revenge. The 76th Games were never called off. The tributes this year will be reaped from the children of the Capitol. Let the Games begin.
1. Blood For Blood

_**Chapter I:**_

_**Blood For Blood**_

The bus rumbles to a stop and my eyes flutter open. My friend, Myranna, sits beside me, her electric blue hair the same color as her eyes and makeup. When we rise to our feet, we peer over the many rows of seats at the driver at the head. He stands in the aisle, his wide-eyed expression mirrored by the many teenagers.

"It is nothing, I will have the bus fixed in just a moment," he says, and hops down the stairs of the bus.

"This trip is pointless," Myranna says. "That damned Katniss Everdeen is just power hungry. Who is she to become the new President of the Capitol? This is what happens when power is fed to a hungry peasant."

I swallow the bile that builds in my throat. I can't stand the sound of the name. Even this morning, when I passed the many banners of her hanging from the buildings, I have to struggle to hold back the tears. When I hear that all Capitol children are to visit her—our new President, I all but burst into flames.

"No one will replace your grandfather, Demi."

I keep my words to a minimal because I can't control the quiver in my throat. "I know."

Myranna grabs some of my blonde hair and holds it up to me. "You look like you belong in the districts. You're the only girl in the Capitol who wears her hair like this."

I look around at the other girls. They all wear their hair in trendy updos, dyed unnatural colors and laced with adornments like feathers, pearls, and diamonds. Myranna is the simplest Capitol girls get, with her straight blue hair and eye make-up. My hair simply snakes down to my shoulders and down my back. "I don't care for trends," I say.

"Well, you look strange. It's difficult being seen with you sometimes. Think about how hard it is being your friend. People are starting to not buy into my lie that you have a mental illness."

A pound against our bus scares us to a jump. Everyone gasps and jump to their feet. Myranna and I exchange a glare. "What was that?" she asks. I shrug.

"The incompetent bus driver screwed something up, no doubt," Plutarch's nephew, Shane Heavensbee, says, flexing his muscles. "I'll go check it out. Hopefully he gets fired after this."

Something purrs beside me and I look at Myranna who bites her lip as she stares ahead, watching Shane exit the bus. I cut my eyes on her and she grins. "What? He's hot."

I slide back down to my seat and allow the music to blast in my ears. I close my eyes and all that exists is the music. All that matters is the music.

I don't know how much time has passed when Myranna shoved my shoulder. When I glare over at her, she's to her feet, her eyes wide. I look around and see children rushing from the bus. I rip the plugs from my ears and move aside, allowing Myranna to slip into the aisle before I do.

"What is going on?" I ask anyone that will answer.

"They say Shane found something," Effie Trinket's much younger sister says, tossing aside her silver braid that was laced with sparkling diamonds.

We push and push, and eventually the lot of us stampede from the bus and crowd around Shane at the side of the road. I see that we are in the middle of nowhere. Where has the bus driver taken us? There is no street in the Capitol that isn't framed by buildings.

"Look!" Shane says, holding out a bloody sky-blue jacket. His entire body shakes and tears make his green eyes shine. I swallow a laugh. Such a large, "tough" boy; such a waste of mass.

"Okay, what the hell is that?" Myranna says, pushing through the swarm of children to Shane.

"It belongs to the bus driver," he says. "I found this up the road. But he's nowhere around."

Somewhere around me, there are small children crying, but there are so many of us that I can't tell which.

"So what do we do?" Ryte Flickerman says. It takes an effort not to stare at the purple hair that falls down to his mid-back. He wears more makeup than Myranna.

"I say we walk," I blurt.

Everyone glares at me and I shrug. "Would you rather wait here and rot, or try to find shelter before nightfall?" I point at the rose-colored sky.

"She's right," Shane says. His voice deepens and I can tell he's forcing it. When he holds up his arm and kisses his bicep, I roll my eyes. "Everyone just follow me."

We trek for what feels like hours and I fall behind the mass. Their presence at this point does little more than annoy me. Children are crying. Teenagers are complaining. Most the girls are in orbit around Shane who pretends to be fearless but, by the way his steps are heavy and labored, is cracking.

A tug of my hair brings me to the ground. I kick at the air as I slide across the pavement, the gravel tearing into my elbows. The children ahead of me look alarmed, but then take off in sprints. Men cloaked in white zip past me and apprehend them. Twelve year olds are thrown to the ground. Edea Trinket screams as the diamonds are ripped from her hair. Shane and Myranna have a lead. Shane totes Myranna by her hand into the distance. When two shots rip through my eardrums, they both fall.

The men in white start bringing the children my way and I feel myself being pulled up a ramp. I am thrown into a seat and punched in the chest when I try to run. Shallow breaths escape me as straps are thrown across me and fastened into metal buckles. As I black out, more children are being brought up the ramp. When we are all securely in our seats, the ramp becomes a closing door which seals us all in darkness. I realize we are in a hovercraft right as I black out.

# # #

When I awake, I see I am strapped to a chair. A long table stretches out in front of me and I see the children from the bus in chairs on either side. Edea Trinket's hair is a silver spool all around her head. Ryte Flickerman's eye is bloody and swollen. Claudine Templesmith's nose pours blood onto her shirt. Shane and Myranna are barely conscious and blood stains their shirts. All other children are slightly bruised and are crying, sniffling, the mucus from their noses pouring into their necks.

Men wearing white and red suits flood the room holding silver platters topped with bloody dead animals. As they sit the roadkill on the table before us, I recognize one of the men. I remember meeting him when my grandfather took me to meet the Game Makers.

"Lennox, what is happening?" I ask.

He looks at me, his eyes wide, and cries as he sits a rabbit on the table before me. Its stomach is ripped open and its entrails pour out around it. I gag and cry out and he scurries away.

Heavy footsteps pound against the wood floors and before I can fully look at the woman entering the room, my face is shoved into the rabbit's entrails. Something soft and wet slides across my tongue. The liquid is thick and it tastes metallic.

My head is pulled out of the dead creature and I see the children surrounding the long table crying, blood smeared on their faces, pink remnants falling from their mouths.

"Nothing better than fresh game," a voice calls.

The voice tugs at my memory. There is something about it that makes me feel like I've heard it before. When I think I remember, a foul liquid fills my mouth and spews out onto the table.

I look up and the woman—or, rather, the _girl_—is making her way to me at the end of the table. Her brown hair left her head in a long braid. I knew her. Suddenly, it feels like something has pieced my heart. I knew this place. I knew this table. This was the house of the man she murdered.

"Don't like it? It's what we eat in the Districts," she says, then smiles at me. "You probably know who I am."

I nod, though I'd rather not speak to her. She is below me. She is a District girl. "Katniss Everdeen," I say.

"You _peasant,_" Myranna shrieks. Katniss nods at a Peacekeeper standing a few inches away and he strikes Myranna with the back of his hand.

"Stop!" I say, then look at Katniss. "What do you want? I have money."

She smiles. "Of course you have money. You're Demetria Snow, the late President's granddaughter. I don't want your money."

"Anything!" I cry. "I can give you anything! I can _do_ anything!"

"Oh, I know. But it's not able what you _can_ do. It's about what you _will_ do. You, Shane Heavensbee, the children in this room, and your dear friend, Seneca Crane's daughter, Myranna. There are twelve you here. Once we find another twelve of you Capitol children, we will commence."

I look around. "There are thirteen of us here."

A smile stretches across Katniss's face. She nods at the Peacekeeper and he reaches into his pocket and splatters Myranna's brains over the table. Children scream and cry and Katniss smiles.

"Now there are twelve. Welcome to the 76th annual Hunger Games."


	2. Subterfuge

_**Chapter II:**_

_**Subterfuge**_

It is nearly impossible to sleep. When my eyes are closed, all I see is Myranna's bloody matter on the children it splattered on. When they are open, I see the Peacekeeper standing in the doorway. If I try to escape he will shoot me. He watches me when I get out of bed and wander around the room. When I go to the window, his finger is already on the trigger. I look through the glass at mountains and mountains surrounding us. There are no buildings. There are no neon lights waving in the night. There are no sounds. There is nothing but mountains.

I have only been here once before, when the Rebellion attacked the capitol and my grandfather insisted my mother and I hid here. Even then, I didn't know where we were. All I knew was that I had to ride a hovercraft to get here.

When I walk to the bathroom, I pass directly by the Peacekeeper who skewers me with a glare. I closed the door once I step in and he is gone. For now. I sit on the toilet seat lid and push my face into my hands and cry. This is only happening because those damned Rebels. They took over everything since the war. The Rebels are now Peacekeepers and government officials. And their Mockingjay is our President. Why couldn't they be satisfied with the peace my grandfather gave this world. His Games kept Panem safe. He was the only true leader.

A heavy knock at the bathroom door tells me I have been in here for too long. But I don't want to leave. I want to stay in here forever.

When I pull the door, the Peacekeeper stumbles forward a bit. I stare at him and he stares at me. I push past him and he snatches my arm. "Where are you going?" he asks.

I jerk away. "We are allowed out of our rooms," I remind him and tread out of the room. I trek along the long hallway and the many doors on either side and all I hear is crying. I reach the room I aim for and I turn the knob and push open the door, startling the Peacekeeper inside. He glares at me and I push past him.

Shane sits there, his face in his pillow. His sobs are so loud they can be heard down the hall. When he looks up, he throws a pillow at me and it flies over my shoulder. I glare over my shoulder at the Peacekeeper. "Do you mind?" I say.

He cuts his eyes and turns and exits the room. I know he's right outside the door, so I don't plan to escape.

"Are you okay?" I ask Shane.

"Get out of here!" he bellows.

"Why are you upset at me? This is all Katniss's doing."

He stares fire at me through his tears. "You don't get it."

"What's to get? Katniss Everdeen is power hungry. She didn't appreciate what my grandfather did for Panem and now she is trying to change it."

"_No,_ Demetria!" he yells and stands up. He towers over me. I should be afraid of him, but I'm not. "Those Games were _wrong_! Nothing justifies making children fight to the death!"

A bitter laugh escapes my throat. "Are you serious? Everyone in the Capitol loves those Games. And if anything, they keep the Districts in line."

He scoffed and tears spill from his eyes. "Yeah, that's why they rebelled. Because they were 'kept in line'."

"They rebelled because they were ungrateful!" I spit.

"You are a little brat, Demetria. Sometimes, I think I'd like it better if I lived in the Districts because everyone in the Capitol are privileged, self-absorbed pieces of shit with no regard for human life. I can't believe I live somewhere where people watch children _mutilate _each other as entertainment."

I throw my hand against the wound on his shoulder and he cries out. "You want to live in the Districts? The people that did _this,_" I hit him again. "to you. The people that shot you and are now putting you in the Games. Oh, how smart you sound, Shane!"

He shoves me and I struggle to not fall over. The Peacekeeper storms in with his hand on his gun and I look back at Shane and say, "You'll be the first person I look for in the Games," then leave.

# # #

When I wake up in the morning, I am led downstairs by the mouth-watering scent flowing through the house. I rub my eyes and bounce down the stairs where I find all the children from the bus sitting at the table, except this time there are no Peacekeepers around. Everyone glares at me and Shane averts his gaze as I take my seat. They silently eat their breakfast while exchanging occasional whispers. Some are to themselves, silently crying between bites.

Ryte Flickerman is the first to look me in the eye. He places his hand on mine and I instinctively snatch away. "I am so sorry about your friend, Demetria."

"Demi," I correct him. "And thank you."

Edea Trinket looks at me, then narrows her eyes on Shane. "What do you have to do with this?" she says.

Shane looks up from his breakfast with wide eyes. "What?"

"You're Plutarch Heavensbee's son. Plutarch was part of the Rebellion, so you being here is obviously some sort of trap."

"What? No, I—"

"Are you here to spy on us and then tell Katniss and the Rebels what we say? Then when the Games come about, you're set free?"

"I don't think Shane would do that," Ryte says.

"He's trying to fool us," Edea says, pushing her long silver hair aside. "He's playing dumb to get us to trust him."

"Shane was on that bus right along with everyone else here," I blurt. "This was all planned. We were all meant to be here."

"But he was the first one to look for the bus driver!" she screams, standing up and pointing at him. "He is probably in on this!"

"I'm not!"

I see Claudine Templesmith slide a knife under the table and I jump to my feet and smack it out of her hand right as she brings it out to stab Shane. I wrestle her to the ground and am immediately hauled into the air. I kick as Shane pulls me out of the room. When he sets me on my feet, I snap my open palm at him.

Ryte appears and places his hands on my face. "Sweetie, calm down, okay?" he says.

It isn't until then that I realize I am heaving breaths like an angry bull. Ryte inhales heavily and blows evenly and I mimic him exactly. "I'm fine," I say.

"Do not stoop to their level, okay?" he says.

"How are you so calm?" I say. "We've become _tributes_."

"Yes, and becoming violent isn't going to help that."

I close my eyes and when I open them, my head is clearer. I turn to Shane who is rubbing the red spot on his cheek. "You have nothing to do with this, right?"

He looks alarmed. "No, of course not."

"What happened yesterday?"

"I ran up the road to see if I could find anyone to help us. Then I found the driver's jacket."

"And that is all?"

"Yes!" he says. "I swear."

I look at Ryte, whose hand is placed cautiously on my shoulder, then back at Shane. "If you're lying, I will kill you myself."


End file.
